by Luke Harding
First published 2017
Luke Harding opens his investigation in December 2016, meeting former MI6 officer Christopher Steele in a London pub. Their conversation centers on Donald Trump's ties to Russia. One month later, Steele's dossier becomes public and triggers a massive political scandal. Harding traces the web of connections between American figures like Paul Manafort, Michael Flynn, Jared Kushner, George Papadopoulos, and Carter Page with powerful Russians including Aras Agalarov, Natalia Veselnitskaya, and Sergey Kislyak. The Guardian reporter draws on his experience as Moscow bureau chief to reveal how Russia executed a long-term plan to disrupt American democracy. The story spans international espionage, offshore banking, suspicious real estate transactions, the Miss Universe pageant, organized crime, money laundering, poisoned dissidents, and computer hacking. Harding argues these elements combined to influence the most shocking election in American history.
Genres: history, political-science, non-fiction, 21st-century, espionage, political-thriller
Vibes: emotional, fast-paced, thought-provoking
Tropes: deception, espionage
Setting: London, Moscow, United States
Period: 2016, 2017
368 pages · Paperback · Vintage